The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center has made a habit of importing spectacle. After hosting crowd-pullers sound of music, Mama Mia!,West Side Story, life of pi, the Phantom of the Opera And nutcrackerIt now welcomes its ninth international showcase: WickedWhich runs from 12-29 March. and no one else WickedBut an entirely new production that features the same beloved score and script while reimagining the direction, choreography and design for a new generation.
globally, Wicked Has attracted more than 65 million people in 130 cities in 16 countries. Its songs – ‘Defying Gravity’, ‘Popular’, ‘For Good’ – have become cultural shorthand for ambition, friendship and the kind of heartbreak that still leaves you standing. The story is based on WickedWith music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, takes us back to Oz, long before Dorothy’s neat pigtails and ruby slippers. This begs a far more troubling question: Who decided that one woman was evil and the other good?
Elphaba and Glinda insideWicked
| Photo courtesy: @joaocaldasfilho
At the helm of this new staging is director John Stefaniuk, who approaches the subject matter with a keen awareness that the world has changed dramatically since the show first debuted two decades ago. “When I saw it for the first time Wicked And in trying to decide how to introduce such a historic piece of cultural history and give it a voice that is appropriate for today’s audience, I first looked at how much it has changed since it was first introduced nearly 25 years ago,” he says. “For me, the biggest change in the last 20 years has been the introduction of social media and its impact on society.”
This is a very modern lens through which to view Oz. “Starting with Glinda, to me she’s really the first Ozian social influencer who is spreading her ideas across the country through the bubble,” John explains. “Elphaba, on the other hand, is a victim of cancel culture in Oz, bearing the burden of being physically separated and then being prevented from telling the truth.”
To bring to life those themes of identity, prejudice and public embarrassment, John first kept the rehearsal room empty. He says, “I always start every rehearsal process sitting at a table where we don’t rely on sets or costumes or movement, we rely only on the text and understanding what and why we say every word on the page.” The idea is simple but effective: Before the broomsticks fly and the gowns shine, the actors have to find themselves in lines. “For me, the more an actor is willing to bring himself to the stage, the more truth will shine through in the production.”
John Stefaniuk
This truth is most tenderly felt in the developing friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, played here by Rebekah Lovings and Eve Shanu-Wilson. Their rivalry on stage turns into something deeper and more enduring, and John admits that watching their camaraderie grow off stage was half the magic. “Rehearsals with our two leading ladies were such a joy,” he says. “I loved seeing how their own friendship developed during the rehearsal process, with each supporting the other as they explored their performances.”
Like their characters, the actors started out with different strengths – one at home with soprano sparkle and comic timing, the other with what John lovingly calls “a voice of steel” – and gradually uncovered emotional depths together. What the audience sees each night is not just choreography and blocking (the planned movements and positions of the actors on stage), but a shared journey taken in the rehearsal room long before the curtain rises.
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John with Rebekah
Visually, this production leans into the opposite. John envisions Oz as two worlds running in parallel: the shiny public facade and the shaky private machinery beneath. Describing the rides, lights and smiling crowds, he says, “When you see the Emerald City at first glance, it looks like a funfair like Lunar Park or Coney Island from the turn of the century.” “However, upon closer examination, we see that behind the scenes it is nothing more than capturing and enslaving those living in cages and punishing those who speak out against it.”
It’s a change in perspective that blurs the clear lines between good and bad. MagicianThe grandeur of is beginning to sound suspiciously like spin, and Elphaba’s so-called wickedness seems closer to moral courage.
To meet the Indian audience Wicked While in Mumbai for the first time, John believes that there is a natural bridge there. “India has always received such global recognition for its Bollywood films,” he says, noting the shared love of music-based storytelling. “Similarly, it blends spectacle and heart in the same exciting and delightful way!”
And there’s spectacle, from flying witches to a tornado that appears to be spinning in the auditorium itself, supported by a company of more than 100 cast, crew and orchestra members, hundreds of costumes and a design team that treats Oz as both a playground and a warning sign. Yet despite all the technical wizardry, John returns to the emotional core. He says, “Like a magician, it’s our job to make you believe that the incredible is happening right before your eyes.” “You can enter Mumbai through the door, but when the lights go down – you are in Oz.”
and maybe that’s why Wicked Endures. Behind the page shine and gravity-defying theatrics is a story about being misunderstood, about standing up when it would be easier to smile and wave, and about friendships that change the course of your life.
Tickets start from ₹2000; Available on nmacc.com or Bookmyshow.com
published – February 27, 2026 02:33 PM IST